Ruffles, Florals and Jewel Tones: Updates From London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

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blog, Burberry, Christopher Kane, David Coma, Erdem, fashion, fashion designers, fashion trends, fashionweek, inspiration, LFW, londonfashionweek, springsummer2019, SS19

Before we state anything else, let us say this- cherry red is the new color of the season for SS 19. When Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo go overboard with it, we know there’s good reason to start using it in our collections too.

Which brings us to the other thing we love about London Fashion Week in general, and this year in particular. Unlike the clean-cut lines and definitions of other showcases, LFW is all about leveling the playground and providing equal opportunity to both established designers and newcomers alike. This is why so many new trends come forth here- it is just a different perspective.

Here are some key lessons from LFW that all retailers can follow:

1. Bending, not breaking the rules: Halpern Quinn is all about sequins, but other shiny things can follow suit as well. Burberry is known for their iconic checks, but they can be adapted. Brands are very conscious about moving away from their statements entirely, but they do know how to play within the boundaries and create something unique. In fact, this is what sets a good brand apart from the rest- the ability to see itself with stark clarity.

2. A touch of nostalgia: New doesn’t always mean doing away with the old. For Victoria Beckham who marked a decade of her collection at both NYFW and LFW, the choice was clear. Nostalgia in motifs and elements can be an excellent way to rehash an old collection and make something new and spectacular.

3. Not too streety: Street styles are great- they’re comfortable, cozy and very easy to maintain. However, fashion houses at LFW disagree. They did their best to take clothing away from the streets and into couture without losing the very aspects that make street-style so desirable. Looks like the time has come to put street-style and athleisure together, and let the good clothes be as they are.

4. The loud colors: A Londoner, until yesterday, would never be caught in a bright coat. Indeed, a black or a tan overcoat is a wardrobe staple that never goes wrong. Blame it on the political circumstances in the world, but everyone wants to express themselves today. True to London style (where coats, let’s admit it, are needed ten months in a year), the overcoats are getting brighter and chirpier, not to mention bolder. Yep, time to get spotted on the Underground.

5. The full look: Not so long ago, the real intent behind a fashion week was to showcase individual pieces, heavily dressed up. Patrons would then face the challenge of taking the different elements and creating their own looks with them. Either people are bored in general, or online shopping has done its bit, but shoppable looks are all the rage this season. You might do well to design a collection with a few different complete looks than to leave it to the consumer to mix-and-match. Fashion as a form of self-expression is, for one, giving up the hot seat to fashion for comfort and speed.

Meanwhile, we’re not done yet! What is a fashion week if we don’t give you the lowdown on the designers we loved, and hopefully you did too? Here are a few that stood out.

1. J.W.Anderson: One of the few street-styles we saw on the runway, and yet, here’s a collection that manages to look so chic! We’re in the same league as mesh any day, and we know it is good when we have these looks for a company.

2. Christopher Kane: Form meets high fashion in this collection for so many different body types. We can already see the boxy mini dress on a tall woman, and the warrior suit is a must-have for the power dresser who makes a statement at work and the after-party.

3. Burberry: We’d die of nostalgia if we didn’t spot at least one piece in the Burberry collection with the trademark lines and colors. Luckily for us also, Burberry is going experimental- with colors and form. Needless to say, this is one work wear collection people will be waiting for. The proof is in the reinterpreted animal prints.

4. David Coma: Never one to shy away from bold silhouettes, this one. Can just a juxtaposition of black and white give rise to such stunning outfits for work and beyond? David Coma’s collection proves that it indeed can. We love that cutout details are making a comeback. Nostalgia, anyone?

5. Erdem: Making a point on the shoppable looks we mentioned above, Erdem’s collection is one that you can walk off the runway and onto the streets in. We love the high-waisted pants so reminiscent of a tuxedo, and the more feminine outfits with stunning details. The fascinators, we’d probably save for the next royal wedding.

6. Victoria Beckham: posh spice meets everyday woman, and that’s where Beckham’s magic lies. Her clothes are as easy to pull off as they are elegant, and that’s why we’re rooting for them.

7. Mary Katrantzou: Bohemian prints have the uncanny ability of looking good on all clothes. Mary’s collection is perfect for workwear as separates, and to the Met Gala alike.

Which of these business trends do you see as easy to adapt for your brand? Tell us in the comments below.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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The Fashion Business Epiphanies We Garnered From New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

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brand consultant, fashion brand, fashion consultant, fashion designer, fashion labels, fashion startup, Fuel4Fashion, Mara Hoffman, Marc Jacobs, Naeem Khan, New York fashion week, NYFW, Prabal Gurung, Ready to wear, Rebecca Minkoff, RTW, Tadashi Shoji

The recently concluded edition of the New York Fashion Week held not so many design surprises as it did business lessons. It is only natural, then, that we wanted to do a feature right away!

Fashion is a form of expression- there’s a reason why people buy so loyally from the brands they love. This applies to all strata of the fashion society. People love their labels as much as they enjoy the ease and comfort of label-less, brand-less clothing. And that’s what NYFW was all about- shunning the label in favor of the individual.

Here, we deconstruct eight ideas from NYFW SS’19 that are worth exploring in your own fashion business.

1. The Return Of The Self: Colors to make you feel better, shapes and silhouettes to help you feel safe- clothing is now about your mood. You may remember from one of our earlier features that color is a huge determinant of how we feel and how we express this to the world outside. A similar idea was extensively visible in the designs of Prada and Givenchy.

2. Landmark Collections: Ralph Lauren turns fifty. Fifty years of bringing enhanced sports fashion to mainstream shows. Emotions ran high at NYFW, but what we took away is the message that sportswear is becoming the new casual wear. Looks that respect this notion will go very far.

3. Tailoring Done Differently: Was it only yesterday that form and fit were the fashion buzzwords to look out for? Well, both form and fit are on holiday at NYFW, and the focus is instead on comfort and function. Not surprising, considering the urban commuter who moves around so much, and people’s general lack of interest in buying pieces that only ever sit in the wardrobe.

4. Feminine Goes Fierce: This year, even the more conventionally minded designers shifted their focus to clothing that made a stronger statement. Case in point- Brock Collection. Their collection is so much more refined and represents strength, inside and out.

5. Subtlety Over Statement: While everyone is busy making a statement, The Row toned it down. This is a potent message for fashion houses designing their collections right about now. Sometimes, in a world that is screaming statements, not making any statement at all may just be the most powerful way to go about anything.

6. Nostalgia: Perhaps the harshness of the world we live in today, with its myriad issues and its elected leaders, is making us fond of the services, army, and even the eighties! Junya Watanabe and Isabel Marant both took this nostalgia and channeled it into something beautiful.

7. Beyond Visual: The tink-tink of Paco Rabanne’s dress collection proved, yet again, that there’s no end to innovation in fashion. Auditory stimuli aren’t the first thing you’d associate with a dress, but they need not be the last either. We’re not rooting for squeaky shoes and hopefully, haven’t descended to dresses that play songs, but as long as the sound is pleasant to hear, why not!

8. The Return Of The Unisex: There’s no way to know how much of it is because of a movement, and how much merely a factor of comfort, but clothing collections are no longer split along gender lines. Case in point- all of the designers who exhibited their collections for men and women at the same time, on the same stage. Come to think of it, why doesn’t love a multipurpose piece?

The looks we loved from New York Fashion Week SS’19: 

1. Mara Hoffman: We love a designer with a voice, and what a statement voice she has! We love her easy whites, stand-out silhouettes and statement florals.

2. Marc Jacobs: elegance never goes out to style, and neither do high collars and breezy cuts suggestive of the elite. Culottes can be statement pieces too, if you know how to stitch them.

3. Naeem Khan: contemporary has never been this classic. Spaghetti dresses and high collars meet more modern ideas of prints and embellishments in this highly versatile collection.

4. Prabal Gurung: did we say pops of colour? Prada is not left alone on that count, what with Prabal Gurung joining in. We love the bright shades sure to make any day better.

5. Rebecca Minkoff’s collection is perfect for a statement workwear.

6. Tadashi Shoji: a master of the feminine, if there was one. Also one of the few collections we spotted this season with animal prints. They’re not going out of style anytime soon.

Which of these ideas will you use as inspiration for your next collection? Tell us in the comments.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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A Toast To The Best Formal and Semi-Formal Styles We Spotted At Lakme India Fashion Week

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Amit agarwal, brand consultancy, design studio, fabrics, fashion brands, fashion designers, fashion labels, fashion show, fashion startup, Fashion Week, formal wear, formal wear and evening wear, freelance fashion designer, garments, Kunal Rawal, Lakme India Fashion Week, runway fashion, Saaksha and Kinni, sheer fabrics, silhouettes, styles, styles and trends

If you’re a fashion aficionado, an aspiring designer or a follower of celebrities, your timeline was probably flooded with images from Lakme India Fashion Week that concluded just a few days ago.  We know because we’ve been digging some of these styles, too.

Here at Fuel4Fashion, we’re huge believers in practicality. Some of the most stunning styles on-ramp often fade away from existence entirely. Some others look great on models but probably not so much on real people in real situations, minus the flashbulbs. That said, three designers absolutely stood out for us and showcased designs that can be adapted into wardrobes.

Take notes, fashion entrepreneurs- your customers will be asking for these styles very, very soon.

1. Saaksha and Kinni

Perhaps the clearest example of a designer’s clarity of thought comes through in this designer duo’s collection for Lakme India Fashion Week this time around. Prints are a very urbane expression of the self- in fact, think back to your ancestry, and you’d be sure to remember one print or one weave that everyone spoke about.

Interpretations of Ikat and Pochampally in 8-bit game pixels is a genius move, we think.

Also, everyone needs space, people!

Flowy fabrics are in, especially for formal wear. In a tropical country like India, and for the sake of comfort the world over, people are seeing the virtue in abandoning the sharp suit for more statement pieces. Think blouses with bell sleeves and prints, printed formal pants with plain shirts, and jackets in a variety of cuts and styles. We’d go so far as to say that you should think of one statement accessory in the collection to lift up all the Boring formal wear that all of us inadvertently own. Excited yet? Thanks, Saaksha and Kinni!

2. Kunal Rawal

We love Kunal Rawal’s collection because it comes as a breath of fresh air in the parched men’s formalwear section this Fashion Week. It’s still super cool to wear formal-ish suits and all-black this festive season too, guys!

Also, come to think of out, wardrobes should always be function over fancy, and while it’s nice to have the flower-embroidered jackets, we all need evergreen pieces that can be adapted to a variety of occasions.

And that is precisely what this collection brings to the ramp, and to wardrobes. We highly recommend including some earthy hues in the formal menswear collections this time. They add a nice touch to an array of blues and blacks.

We also like the idea of using self-designed motifs on pants and jackets for an extra layer of detail. Dinner jackets in shades of orange and burnt umber, details on trousers, and brogues with extra motifs at the toe cap- all recommended.

Did we mention athleisure? A wholly tailored suit with pants that mimic tracks are in right now, and this is a trend you can adapt for both genders with relative ease.

3. Amit Aggarwal

Bringing some much-needed sass to women’s evening wear is Amit Aggarwal. We particularly love his silhouettes because of the sheer global appeal of those gowns. Here’s a cocktail dress that one could pull of absolutely anywhere in the world.

Shades of grey and bronze, a dress separated into coordinates, African culture inspired gowns- is there any better way to go global? Also, grey is a color that is kind to all skin tones, and in all climates, so that’s an added plus too. Think cocktail dresses with one central motif, and add in geometric details.

Another way to adapt Amit Aggarwal’s collection into your stores, apart from the gowns, is to design peplum tops in metallics, tailored pants and thinking of bow pants a la Emma Watson.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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